15 fun facts about Marco Reus

Despite his poor injury record, Reus has racked up 161 goals and 121 assists from 386 appearances for Dortmund in all competitions. That's an incredible return for a midfield player who only cost them £14.5m.

However, they would not have had to fork out this amount if they had not released him from their academy in 2005. Reus's bond with Dortmund goes back to his days as a youth player with the club. He joined the club's youth set-up as a six-year-old and trained with them for nearly 10 years.

However, he failed to make his mark due to his skinny build, and was deemed surplus to requirements in 2009. The attacker relaunched his career at Rot Weiss Ahlen before going on to become a star at Borussia Mochengladbach.

Dortmund eventually realized their mistake and brought him back. Reus always wanted to play for the Yellow and Blacks. It was his boyhood dream to play for Dortmund, and when the opportunity arose, he grabbed it with both hands.

It is interesting to note also that his parents named him after the famous Dutch football icon Marco van Basten. Actually, his parents were originally going to name him "Dennis" when his mother was pregnant, but after Van Basten's remarkable volleyed goal against the Soviet Union in the final of Euro 1988 in Munich, they decided to name him Marco instead.

Reus earned his nickname "Woody" after the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker owing to his spiked hairstyle and the way he moves his head. His teammates poked fun as his head bobbing during runs looked like the famous bird. It's a nickname Reus likes himself and named his Twitter handle after it: @woodyinho.

"The Prince of Dortmund" is another nickname for the German. This moniker highlights his status as one of Dortmund's most influential and beloved players. Reus' impact on the team, his performances, and his loyalty to the club have earned him this endearing nickname. His contributions and leadership have cemented his reputation as a key figure in the dressing room and amongst the fanbase.

Reus has had a successful football career. However, things could have gone very differently. The German midfield dynamo has admitted If he was forced into a career away from football, he would trade manning the cockpit as a pilot instead of flying across the pitch.

"I've been fascinated by flying since my early childhood," he told Bild in 2012. "Back then I always wanted to become a pilot. I loved flying as a child and still do today."

It's often said that there's no loyalty left in football these days, and it's very rare to find a one-club player, a player who gives his all for a single club. However, Reus is an exception to the rule, and he exemplifies the true meaning of loyalty and true love towards his boyhood club.

Reus' legacy extends beyond his individual achievements. He has left an indelible mark on Dortmund, becoming a fan favourite and a symbol of the club's resurgence. Many big clubs came calling for the German midfielder, but he decided to stick with BVB.

Despite lucrative offers from other clubs, his loyalty to the team has endeared him to the fans. On the flip side, BVB have never thought of selling him, which is the reason behind this beautiful relationship.

Reus shares a close friendship with his former Borussia Dortmund team-mate attacker Mario Gotze. They both spent six years at the Dortmund academy before Reus left for Rot Weiss Ahlen, however, they met each other only in 2009 after Reus returned to his boyhood club from Monchengladbach.

Involved in plenty of banter together, the pair are inseparable on and off the pitch. They had a telepathic understanding and were a deadly attacking duo. Gotze left for rivals Bayern Munich in 2013, but that didn’t prove to be a stumbling block in their friendship as they were together while playing for the German national team.

While Reus missed out on World Cup glory in 2014, best friend Gotze lived the dream as he scored the winning goal in the final against Argentina. He dedicated the victory to his absent mate by carrying a jersey with Reus' name on the back around the pitch during the celebrations.

Gotze returned to Dortmund in 2016, but went to PSV in 2020 to revitalise his flailing football career. These days, the 30-year-old is plying his trade for Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt.

In an interview with CQ, Mario Gotze also revealed that Reus is a huge Justin Beiber fan and often sings or listens to his songs. Believe it or not, Reus is a confessed Belieber.

The Dortmund star also loved playing his music before games in the dressing room. Reus first refrained from such claims, but then revealed when he first met Gotze in 2009 both of them were listening to Justin Bieber, and Gotze also loves listening to the American star. The fact that they both have similar musical tastes helped their friendship grow.

Reus has taken on more of a leadership role at Dortmund over the years and is a role model for many BVB youngsters. We're sure his musical tastes have evolved with time, but if not, who can argue that the American pop singer produces addictive beats?

Despite enjoying a stellar career so far, Marco might not be the most famous name in the Reus household.

His wife, Scarlett, is a professional German model and has worked for several big companies, including the likes Hyundai, Volkswagen, Drykorn and Modeca Brautmoden. She also has a passion for horse riding and has a Youtube Channel where she uploads workout videos and daily vlogs. Scarlett has more than 266,000 followers on her Instagram, which shows her extensive social media popularity.

The star couple started dating in December 2015 after Reus' split with former girlfriend Carolin Bohs, and got married in a small wedding ceremony attended by friends and family on December 21, 2019. They welcomed their first child together, a baby daughter, in early 2019 - but have kept her name a secret.

The German star is a huge fan of former Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky, who spent six seasons at Borussia Dortmund between 2001 and 2006. Rosicky was a integral member of the Dortmund squad during his time in Germany before his move to Arsenal, and Reus admitted he grew up watching his games and tries to replicate his impact.

While the two never played together in the same team since Reus was still making a name for himself in the youth squad, he has fond memories of the former Czech Republic national team captain.

“My idol was always Tomas Rosicky. He used to be phenomenal. He had such a good eye for an opening and knew where his teammates were, and he was so quick,” Reus said in an interview.

“Rosicky had great technique and was so intelligent and mature even though he was still young at Dortmund. I copied everything about him, right down to his sweatbands.”

Athletes all over the world are known to have pre-match rituals and superstitions to ensure they are in the groove when they step onto the pitch. Borussia Dortmund star Reus is no different.

Before games Reus insists on playing music in the dressing room - his favourite being hip-hop. He also sticks to the same routine, always pulling on his right sock, shin pad and boot first. Similarly, he always crosses the white line leading with his left foot.

Reus also has a different handshake for each of his teammates. In 2015, a video went viral where he was seen greeting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ilkay Gundogan and Nuri Sahin with completely different handshakes. More recently, similar happened when he shook hands with his former teammate Robert Lewandowski.

Reus' international career started well as he took part and scored in Euro 2012. He scored eight league goals and provided five assists in the second half of the 2013/14 season, but his dream of playing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup was shattered by an ankle injury suffered against Armenia. Germany went on to win a fourth World Cup without him.

The same happened again before Euro 2016, as Reus missed out on another international tournament due to injury. He did feature at the 2018 World Cup, starting two of Germany’s three group matches and scoring against Sweden in their only victory in Russia.

Then, he ruled himself out of Germany's squad for the 2020 European Championship as he wanted to give his body time to recover after an injury-riddled season.

At 33-years-old, this winter World Cup in Qatar looked like Reus' last chance to represent Germany on the grandest stage of all. That dream went up in smoke again as he was stretchered off during 'Revierderby' - just two months before the World Cup, and was subsequently left out of the Germany squad.

It's just heart-breaking as he was coming off the back of a fantastic first-half of the season. It's safe to say, injuries have robbed Germany of what could've been an all-time great.

Celebrities and athletes around the world are seen with tattoos on their skin. David Beckham has virtually his entire body inked with his children’s names, Jesus Christ, and the famous guardian angels.

Reus also like tatoos and has "Marco – 31.05.1989” inked on his left arm, just in case he forgets his own birthday. He also finds his daily motivation from his Oprah Winfrey-inspired tattoo, sporting her quote "the biggest adventure you can take is to live out your dreams," as well as countless others on his body including a lion and a flower.

There are four pendants engraved on Marco’s left forearm with alphabets T, M, Y, M. The pendants are the initials of family members' names: T for his father, Thomas, M for his mother’s name Manuela, Y for his elder sister’s name Yvonne, and M for Melanie, who is his other sister. There is also a half-clock tattoo on Reus’s left forearm.

Reus once admitted his obsession for tattoos in an interview: “I just love tattoos and I have a good tattoo artist. There’ll probably be some more in the future. It might even become an obsession.”

Reus' flamboyant and silky style of play, dribbling his way through spaces and unlocking defences with his vision and quick footwork, makes him a global star.

The level of his popularity was further highlighted in 2016, when in a public vote against Real Madrid's James Rodriguez, Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Manchester United's Anthony Martial, the Dortmund attacker came out on top and was made the cover star of FIFA 17.

While he likes to keep himself away from the headlines off the pitch, Dortmund's star is willing to help people in need. He has been doing it for a while now, with regular visits to children in Dortmund hospitals as part of the "ELTERNTREFF" ('ParentMeet') programme.

Reus supports children struggling with leukaemia and tumours and donates a share of the profit from his clothing line "MRXI" to charity. In March 2020, meanwhile, he and his wife donated €500,000 to help sustain Dortmund-based small businesses to deal with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2022/23 Bundesliga title race between fierce rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dormunt will be decided on the final day of the season, with BVB holding a two point lead over Bayern Munich heading into matchday 34.

Dortmund are in control of their own destiny. Match or better the Bavarians’ result this weekend, and Edin Terzic’s side will win the Bundesliga title for the first time in 11 years.

If Dortmund wins this weekend, Reus will finally lift his first Bundesliga title with his boyhood club. And the moment will be nothing more than what he richly deserves. He stood by his clubs through thick and thin, turning down more money, fame, and a better shot at trophies on several occasions.

Many players with ample lot of talent and world-class ability came and went to join their dream clubs, but Reus stayed and guaranteed his legendary status at the club. He was destined for greatness, but injuries hindered his progress, and his first league title would just be fair.